Saturday, March 15, 2014

Mia Farrow had a career briefly in the sixties, for about two years (1967 and 1968). She followed that with desperate attempts in the seventies, one film bomb after another. In 1979, she began dating Woody Allen which allowed her to have a film career again. He put her in his movies. She excelled in Broadway Danny Rose, Radio Days and Zelig.

She and The Purple Rose of Cairo are overpraised. Jeff Daniels is hideous -- Woody should have kept Michael Keaton in that role instead of firing him.

She was good in New York Stories -- a film she sneers at -- the woman who made the bomb Avalanche and the bomb Hurricane, sneers at Allen's hilarious film in a trilogy that also includes a masterpiece by Martin Scorsese (starring Nick Notle and Rosanna Arquette) and one by Francis Ford Coppola.

I guess it's not up to the 'level' of her hideous See No Evil?

The 80s were an awful time for film actresses not named Meryl and you saw Jane Fonda disappear for years, you saw Sissy Spacek go under, you saw Debra Winger go under and Jessica Lange slit her cinematic wrists. Lange's talented and may be one of the most talented actresses working today but she really picked some awful films. It was as though, having won an Oscar for her amazing performance in Tootsie, she was bound and determined never to look sexy and alive again, let alone make us laugh. So she followed it with Sweet Dreams (and an ugly wig or dye job), Crimes of the Heart (where she played a faded beauty), Far North (no one saw it), Everybody's All-American (the few who saw it did so to see Dennis Quaid in a jock strap) and them Music Box where the visual look she appeared to be going for was Harpo Marx. (I'll tack on a Jessica Lange overview at the end of my Mia talk.)

While Bette Midler had to work to get film work (after Jinxed) and busted her ass to do so, Mia had one film role after another via dating Woody Allen.

I can remember, for example, the press noting that the poster for 1990's Alice must be the envy of every working actress, it was nothing but Mia's face.

She went from an actress who couldn't get a role -- even a supporting role -- in a decent film to a leading lady thanks to the 13 films she made with Allen (starting with 1982's A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy and ending with 1992's Husbands and Wives). She got Golden Globe and/or BAFTA nominated for Broadway Danny Rose, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Hannah and Her Sisters and Alice.

She did surreal: Shadows and Fog, she did drama (September and Another Woman) and she did comedy (Crimes & Misdemeanors -- her section was the comedy).

She had a career.

Then it came to an end and so did her film career. (Everything bombed -- even her cameo in the remake of The Omen.) She has no film career today. Not even a TV career.

She fascinated America briefly in 1967 and 1968. A third-tier TV actress had seized the nation's attention by marrying Frank Sinatra and filming Rosemary's Baby. It was her only hit film. And what people walked away with was, "Ruth Gordon is amazing!!!" (And Ruth Gordon was amazing.)

She never had another hit film in the 12 years that followed.

Woody's films?

Hannah & Her Sister was a box office hit. But most of his films are more critical hits. So Mia got to star in prestige films and not worry, as a Jessica Lange or Jane Fonda would in their own films, that the movie didn't make at least 30 million in ticket sales.

So I bring all that up because, in order to make a quick buck, Mia's now giving speeches. Tulsa World reports:

But it also led to the
moment in 1992 when Farrow discovered Allen’s relationship with one of
her adopted daughters — a moment, Farrow said, that “shattered” her
family.

“And it’s something that you already know too much about,” she added, wryly.

“I often am asked, ‘How
could anyone possibly not know what was happening,’” Farrow said. “And
the answer is, I think, something that happens to a lot of women. You
shrink, as a woman. You allow things to be chiseled away, things that
you need to be a strong woman.

“I look back at it know
and wonder how I could spend my life with someone who did not share what
I see as my purest goals,” she said. “My family, my ethics, my faith.”

Oh, shut up.

There's nothing worse than a cheap whore except for one who won't own it.

January 1992, Mia discovered that Woody Allen and her daughter Soon-Yi Preven were having an affair.

As late as August 1992, Mia was still trying to be with Woody.

If he hadn't told her he was replacing her (with Diane Keaton) in Manhattan Murder Mystery, she might have continued.

I don't believe Dylan Farrow or Mia on those ridiculous charges. I'm not even going to include them.

But I will note that Mia went 8 months able to stomach Woody.

And she only turns on him when she loses her lead role.

Now she's being 'inspirational' for high school students by talking (lying) about this?

Back to the article, she went on to the children about her parents and her mother's Tarzan movies and . . .

Mia's 69 and hopelessly out of touch. The Tarzan movies? Something my generation watched on TV. Kids in high school today did not grow up watching black and white films from the 30s on TV.

How sad.

And that describes the level of inspiration Mia brought as well.

Back to Jessica Lange, I'm not questioning her acting. She was great in all of those 80s films except for Everybody's All-American (not her fault, Taylor Hackford hates women and Debra Winger's the only one who ever managed to deliver a performance in one of his films and nearly killed herself to do so).

I'm saying, she made us laugh in Tootsie and then refused to ever do so again. She didn't want to make us happy. The 90s were a little better for her. She made Men Don't Leave which was not only a great performance but a very good film. It still holds up. Then she made Cape Fear and finally gave audiences a hint of how beautiful she was. In Blue Sky, she continued that and won an Academy Award for an incredible performance. She followed that with Sad Sack White Woman in Losing Isaiah. I don't know if she or the director felt that a glamorous and beautiful Jessica might upset the audience.

In 1997, she gave a fussy performance in A Thousand Acres. Where was that voice coming from? Michelle Pfeiffer steals the film and gives one of the great performances of the decade.

Friday, March 14, 2014. Chaos and violence, continue, Nouri's big mouth
brings political rival Moqtada al-Sadr back to Iraq, the State Dept
finally finds a voice to condemn Nouri's 9-year-old child brides
proposal, the press picks up on the issue today, rumors circulate of
Nouri holding warrants ready to serve on his political rivals, a
Saturday protest is planned to rebuke him, the United Kingdom loses a
strong anti-war voice, and much more.

Last Saturday, Iraqi women protested in Baghdad against Nouri
al-Maliki's proposed bill which would allow father's to marry off
daughters as young as nine-years-old, strip away the need for consent to
sex, and would strip custodial rights from mothers. The US press has
worked overtime to ignore the protest and the bill Nouri's sent to
Parliament. Today, it finally got some attention in the US press.

Iraq is seriously considering passing a new law called Jaafari Personal
Status Law which would allow girls as young as 8-years-old to legally
marry. The law itself actually reads girls age 9, but because Iraq
follows the lunar Islamic calendar their age 9 actually equals the age
of 8 years and 8 months. The law also mentions this is the same age that
girls reach puberty. Is this their justification for allowing such
young girls to be forced into marriage?Making matters even worse, the same reads that a husband can have sex
with his wife with or without her consent. This means that if an
8-year-old gets married, she could raped by her husband and it would not
be illegal.

The Associated Press' Sameer N. Yacoub and Sinan Salaheddin offer a
lengthy report which includes: "Also under the proposed measure, a
husband can have sex with his wife
regardless of her consent. The bill also prevents women from leaving the
house without their husband's permission, would restrict women's rights
in matters of parental custody after divorce and make it easier for men
to take multiple wives."

If you put it all together, the numbers from today with the numbers
earlier in the week, you still don't have even half as many women as
turned out to protest the law in Baghdad.

But that Nouri could scare up these 'support rallies' at all?

That goes to the refusal of the Western media to cover this issue and to make it clear that it was illegal and unacceptable.

Marie Harf is a US State Dept spokesperson. She presided over today's press briefing (yes, State finally gave a briefing on Friday). Said Arikat, Al Quds bureau chief, raised the issue of the proposed law.

Said Arikat: Yeah. Iraq?

MS. HARF: Mm-hmm.

Said Arikat: Are you aware of a law that allows parent – fathers or guardians to marry off their 9-year-old girls?

MS. HARF: Yes.

Said Arikat: And what is your comment on that?

MS. HARF: This
is a draft law. We understand that this draft law, which I think
several high-level Iraqi political and religious leaders have publicly
condemned and claim violates the rights of Iraqi women – has been sent
to the council of representatives for consideration. We absolutely
share the strong concerns of the UN mission in Iraq, which has noted
that this law risks constitutionally protected rights for women. The
draft law I think is pending before the parliament right now. It would
require three readings before a vote could take place, so we’ll
obviously be watching the debate closely and welcome a parliamentary
process that ensures the rights of all Iraqis, including women, are
fully protected in line with its constitution.

And I would also note
that some women’s groups, some human rights NGOs, have also condemned
the draft law as a significant step backwards for women’s rights in
Iraq.

When a group in a country is being targeted, if the world rallies to
call it out, it can have an impact. By the same token, silence only
endorses and embraces the targeting. Human Rights Watch deserves strong
credit for weighing in earlier this week with "Iraq: Don’t Legalize Marriage for 9-Year-Olds." Suadad al-Salhy and Reuters reports deserve credit for being the only Western outlet to grasp last Sautrday this was serious and news. (Yes, I know AFP's
Prashant Rao spent Saturday attempting to get a copy of the bill's text
in writing. I know it, so what? AFP didn't report on it -- because
Prashant couldn't get a written copy of the bill. al-Salhy and Reuters
did report on the issue. So we applaud them. No applause for AFP and
they should be glad that it's been too busy of a week for me to connect
this to all the other silences on Iraqi women from AFP.) Iraqi media covered it and deserves credit for that. Rudaw took it seriously and did at least three stories by Tuesday on this issue so they deserve applause as well.

And we'll again note and applaud the United Nations Secretary-General's
special envoy in Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov, for his Tweet last Saturday:

But there should have been a lot more and it's really sad that the State
Dept can't make a statement on it until they're asked about it.

You know what, though? If the State Dept will make their policy on all
countries, I'll be fine with it. If John Kerry, Secretary of State,
will stop threatening various countries and just keep his mouth closed
unless he's asked a question, that might be a good policy. It might
de-escalate some of the tensions in the world right now instead of
ratcheting them up -- something that's especially dangerous when Weak
Barack is the president.

You can play madman of the planet. That's actually a game theory in
international relations. Bully Boy Bush was insane. And the world knew
it as did the US. So he could bully and threaten and everyone knew he
was crazy enough to do it -- to do anything. As the global madman, he
intimidated many.

But Barack's not seen as a madman. That's fine. But is he seen as strong? No.

Which is why he delegates to Kerry to be the mouth piece making threats
(and did so with Hillary Clinton before Kerry). And both are willing to
play this crazy role.

You'll notice the Secretaries of Defense -- Robert Gates, Leon Panetta
and now Chuck Hagel -- have all rejected that role in the
administration. That's because they're smarter than Kerry and Clinton.

Let's move back to Iraq where Friday's big news was the return of Moqtada al-Sadr. Alsumaria reports
the cleric and movement leader has returned to Najaf from Iran and done
so the day before the demonstrations he called for to take place.

Background. Nouri's big mouth ended up tanking his own two-day
conference. For those who missed it, Nouri's fat mouth was flapping
last Saturday insulting many as he spoke to France24. France 24's Mark Perelman interviewed (link is text and video) Nouri for a half hour broadcast which aired Saturday.
In the interview, Nouri's well noted paranoia was on full display as
he repeatedly declared, in the very first two minutes, his alleged
'victory' over those attempting to turn Iraq and Syria into one country
("there are goals to create a one state," "create a state -- one part in
Syria and one part in Iraq"). He continued to gab and began accusing
other countries of supporting terrorism (he was supposedly going to
reveal proof of his gossip in the conference but, as usual, his fat
mouth made empty promises). He also insulted Moqtada.

Moqtada al-Sadr announced his political retirement February 15th. February 18th, he delivered a speech -- CounterPunch posted the speech in full -- emphasizing his decision. February 26th, NINA noted the rumors that Moqtada left Iraq, "The sources noted in a press statement that Mr. Muqtada al-Sadr left
today's afternoon the city of Najaf heading to the Islamic Republic of
Iran in order to complete his religious studies and stay away from the
political scene as he officially announced for all Iraqis."

Now Moqtada had left Iraq. He'd asked his
followers not to protest. And they ceased their protests and heeded
Moqtada's call. But Nouri had to go all bitchy on Moqtada in the
interview,
insulting his intelligence, etc. This led to mass protests all week and
now it's led to the return of Moqtada to Iraq. And to what's expected
to be a very large protest against Nouri on Saturday. Al Mada quotes
Baraa al-Azzawi, with the Sadr bloc, stating that they've implemented
security plans and are expecting a turn out in Dhi Qar of over one
thousand.

Kitabat notes
that Moqtada met, earlier this week, in Tehran with the leader of the
Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq Ammar al-Hakim and the two discussed
issues regarding the planned April 30th parliamentary elections. There
are rumors in Arabic social media that his return will include an
announcement or two regarding the planned elections.

On the topic of the planned elections, Women's e-News notes,
"About 3,000 Iraqi female candidates are preparing to start campaigning
for parliamentary elections, the Arabic-language daily Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported March 2.
It's the biggest female participation in an election in the recent
history of Iraq, and the majority of the women are running for the first
time. The Higher Commission for Elections in Iraq asked every party to
have a minimum of 25 percent female candidates on their list."

If Nouri had a brain, he would have kept his mouth shut. If he had, it's doubtful Moqtada would have returned.

March 4th,
we noted an e-mail from an Iraqi MP which stated that Nouri was using
arrest warrants to take out political rivals and that there was one on
Moqtada among others. Dar Addustour reports
today the rumors that Nouri has files on many in Sadr's bloc -- open
files, warrants, ready to be issued. Former prime minister and leader
of the National Alliance Ibrahim al-Jaafari is said to have tried to
reason with Nouri but without success.

In returning, Moqtada avoided Baghdad International by flying from Iran to Al Najaf International Airport.

This allowed him to avoid the prime minister and chief thug of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki.

Let's wind down on Iraq by remembering Wednesday's snapshot included US
Secretary of State John Kerry bragging about how the Dept is used as a
collection agency, pressuring the government of Argentina to pay of US
corporations. It's interesting when you consider Nouri al-Maliki's
failed conference.

We'll mix in Tweets throughout. Tony Benn passed away today at the age
of 88, just weeks from his 89th birthday (he was born April 3, 1925).
He served in the British Parliament for 50 years and was a member of
the Labour Party. Afterwards, his actions included being the first
president of the UK's Stop the War Coalition.

Stop the War's Lindsey German remembers Benn and notes:The loss of Tony Benn is a loss for our whole movement. He was a
good friend to the Stop the War Coalition, of which he remained
president to the end. One of his last speeches was at the Stop the War
international conference on 30 November 2013. He was a socialist,
someone with a deep commitment to social change, who was principled to
the end.
Tony was from a privileged and highly political background, the son
and grandson of Liberal and then Labour politicians. He would have
become Viscount Stansgate in the early 60s if he had not fought a long
legal battle to renounce his peerage and to continue as an MP in the
House of Commons. This he did, first in Bristol then in Chesterfield.
He became an important minister in the Wilson Labour governments,
standing for deputy leader in 1981 after Labour’s defeat by Thatcher.
Almost uniquely for someone in his position, he moved to the left as
he got older. As an MP he campaigned over a range of issues, supported
the miners during their year long strike in 1984-5, was committed to
equality and women’s rights, was an internationalist who opposed empire
and apartheid, and a socialist. But in my opinion his most important
work came after he left parliament as he quipped ‘to spend more time on
politics’.
This was after the death of his remarkable wife Caroline, a fine
socialist campaigner and author. He dedicated the rest of his life to
campaigning and was absolutely tireless in doing so.

Gary Younge (Guardian) offers, "The two things that stood out, watching him both from afar from an early
age and up close over those few weeks, were his optimism and his
persistence. He believed that people were inherently decent and that
they could work together make the world a better place – and he was
prepared to join them in that work wherever they were."

Charlie Kimber (UK Socialist Worker) shares:A lot of people genuinely loved Tony Benn for his commitment to working class politics and socialism.I was once lucky enough to speak at a meeting with Benn and share a train with him. Throughout the journey people begged for photos or asked him to “speak to my mum on the phone—you’re her hero”.I don’t imagine that happens to Ed Miliband or Ed Balls—or that they are as accessible or friendly as Benn was.Benn had that happy knack that, even though you might have heard the speech many times, it never lost the power to cheer you up.He supported every significant working class struggle in the last 30
years and played a major role in building the Stop the War movement
after 2001. He campaigned across Britain, giving people inspiration and confidence.

UK Channel 4 News grabs a series of his quotes
including, "If you are invaded you have a right to self defence, and
this idea that people in Iraq and Afghanistan who are resisting the
invasion are militant Muslim extremists is a complete bloody lie."

Mark D'Arcy (BBC News) reports, "Benn was a third-generation MP - his grandfather John had served in the
Commons and his father William entered Parliament as a Liberal, served
under Asquith as a Treasury minister and then switched to labour when
the old Liberal party imploded, becoming Ramsay MacDonald's Secretary of
State for India."

[. . .] he raised many issues that are still pertinent, from Britain’s future in
Europe to the primacy of the City of London and the financial industry;
from the threat of rising inequality to the activities of U.S.
intelligence services around the world. (He was forever invoking the
misdeeds of the C.I.A.) He brought a drive and a moral urgency to
politics that is largely lacking today, and, for a while, he
accomplished something that few radicals manage: he created genuine fear
among his enemies, on Fleet Street and elsewhere. To quote Benedict
Brogan, of the Daily Telegraph, “There was a time … when he wasn’t harmless at all, but downright dangerous. That’s what made him such a powerful, memorable force in the history of British politics.”

The Yorkshire Post opines, "There was no one else in his era who so superbly and with such fire led
the left and who so utterly ignored his own personal prospects in order
to get his message across."

Michael White (Pakistan's The Nation) adds, "Throughout his adult life Benn was also a prolific keeper of what became
nightly diary notes, later tape recordings, the basis of eight very
readable volumes of diaries, the last published in 2013 as A Blaze of
Autumn Sunshine. They provided insights into both his happy family life -
married for 50 years to Caroline, an American of similar outlook - and
Benn’s take on the politics of the day, both high and low, plus gossip.
In old age, the diaries were augmented by live performance on stage and
TV, where he was as much a hit in the Tory home counties as in Labour
heartlands. Even his worst enemies did not deny he was an excellent
mimic who could be very funny."

The former West Belfast MP said: "Tony was a true friend of the Irish people."A
principled politician and activist, he spoke up passionately for the
idea of a united Ireland. He remained an avid supporter of Irish freedom
throughout his life."Mr Benn met the Sinn Fein leader on
numerous occasions. He invited Mr Adams to a meeting in 1983 during the
height of the IRA's campaign when the republican party's tolerance of
violence was anathema to most in Great Britain.After
a visit by Mr Adams was blocked in 1993 he correctly predicted that he
would eventually visit Downing Street, to become a regular occurrence
during peace process negotiations under the Blair administration.

Benn voted strongly in favour of gay rights during his time in
Parliament – including the decriminalisation of homosexuality in England
and Wales in 1967.He denounced the Thatcher Government for introducing Section 28 in 1988.The law stated that a local authority “shall not intentionally
promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of
promoting homosexuality” and that schools “could not promote of the
acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”.Speaking in the Commons, Benn said: “If the sense of the word
‘promote’ can be read across from ‘describe’, every murder play promotes
murder, every war play promotes war, every drama involving the eternal
triangle promotes adultery; and Mr Richard Branson’s condom campaign
promotes fornication. The House had better be very careful before it
gives to judges, who come from a narrow section of society, the power to
interpret ‘promote’.